DETROIT ― The Hudson Tigers record breaking offense and vaunted defense have had little trouble throughout the season, dominating teams from stem to stern. For the year, the Tigers dominant rushing offense has rushed for more than 5,200 yards while attempting fewer than 50 passers on the year.
That dominant offense, along with their tough-as-nails defense, came up just a bit short Friday morning, falling to the third ranked Harbor Beach Pirates in the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 8 football state championship by the score of 31-20.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHow they advanced: On to Ford Field - Hudson routs Allen Park to advance to D8 State Finals
“We just couldn’t get off the field sometimes; their quarterback made some great plays,” Hudson coach Dan Rogers in an interview with the MHSAA. “Every time they needed a play, and we needed to get off field, their quarterback made great plays, he’s just a great player. Credit goes out to them.”
The Hudson Tigers fell to Harbor Beach Friday in the state finals of the Division 8 football tournament, earning runner-up honorsSo, What Happened?
Harbor Beach came out of the locker room on absolute fire, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to take the early advantage. Harbor Beach star quarterback Caden Bucholtz had a hand in all three early touchdowns as the 6-foot-1, 225-pound signal caller made numerous plays to keep Hudson at bay all night long.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHarbor Beach wasted little time finding the scoreboard, finding the endzone on their first drive thanks to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bucholtz to Skiler Kruse, another name we would hear a great deal about throughout the night. The second touchdown of the night through the air also came from Bucholtz who found big tight end Matt Geiger for a 19-yard touchdown, making it 14-0 in the first quarter.
Harbor Beach’s second score of the game, the touchdown pass to Geiger, was set up by a rare fumble by Hudson, recovered at the Hudson 27 by the Pirates.
After Hudson finally started to get some offensive traction on their next drive, the Harbor Beach defense dug deep, ending the drive on downs at the 37-yard line. Once Harbor Beach took possession the Pirates only needed four plays to find the endzone on a 25-yard touchdown run by Bucholtz, giving Harbor Beach the big 21-0 lead.
Hudson finally found the endzone after a long and grinding drive as senior all-state tailback Grayson Bills found his way into the endzone from 15-yards out, closing the score to 21-6 at the half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHudson was able to cut the lead to a single score early in the second half as the Tigers took their opening drive of the second half down the field using tough inside, grinding runs. The Tigers pulled the ole-switcheroo on a beautiful fake to Bills as quarterback Colt Perry kept the ball untouched around the left side, sprinting his way untouched for a 53-yard touchdown run, closing the score to 21-14.
With just a single score separating the two teams Harbor Beach buckled down on their next drive, slowly moving the ball down the field behind the running of Bucholtz and the rest of the Pirates attack. On a fourth down and short just outside the 10-yard line Harbor Beach dug into their bag of tricks as Skiler Cruz scored on an 11-yard touchdown run on a reverse, extending the Pirates lead to 28-14.
Hudson desperately needed a score to stay in the game so, as they say, they danced with the girls that brought them. The Tigers buckled up the chin straps and moved down the field using their physical run game. The Tigers finally found the end zone on a Bills 5-yard touchdown run, closing the score to within 28-20.
“I knew we could come back,” Bills said in an interview with the MHSAA.com. “All season we’ve been working together. I had hope in our team and I knew what we were capable of.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHudson’s defense made several big plays to keep things close, however the Tigers never really had a chance to tie the game as Harbor Beach always seemed to answer each Hudson big play. Harbor Beach scored their final points of the game with roughly two minutes left to play as Kruse knocked in a 20-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 31-20.
Hudson had one final chance and looked to get down the field, however the state title was signed, sealed, and delivered by Benson Harper who intercepted a Hudson pass attempt with :26 seconds left. As the Harbor Beach side of Ford Field erupted in jubilation the Hudson side briefly hung their heads as an unbeaten season slowly came to an end. The clock hit zero and the Harbor Beach Pirates were the official MHSAA Division 8 Football State Champions.
Hudson senior Grayson Bills, shown here in early season action, led the Tigers on Friday and left it all out on the field as the team fell to Harbor Beach in the state finalsTop Performances
Grayson Bills, RB/DB, Hudson – Bills finished off his final season at the high school level with 26 carries for 148 yards rushing, including a long of 41 yards and two scores, runs of 15 and five yards. Bills also had one catch for 23 yards
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCaden Bucholtz, QB/RB/LB, Harbor Beach – Bucholtz was the unofficial MVP of the state championship win, rushing the ball 15 times for 149 yards and one score. Bucholtz also added 5 of 8 passing for 82 yards and two touchdowns
Beckett Campbell, RB/DB, Hudson – Campbell finished the night with 26 rushes for 103 total yards, adding to his total of over 2,300 yards on the season.
Skiler Kruse, WR/DB, Harbor Beach – Kruse had one rush for 11 yards and a touchdown while adding three catches for 60 yards and one touchdown. Kruse also had five tackles and one fumble recovery and return.
Liam Timm, LB, Hudson – Timm led the Hudson defense with seven tackles, including two for a loss.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementColt Perry, QB/DB, Hudson – Perry finished the day rushing seven times for 76 yards and a touchdown while adding 2 of 7 passes for 23 yards with an interception.
John Leaman, Ath, Harbor Beach – Leaman finished the day as the leader in tackles with 16 big stops.
Devon Brigman, RB/LB, Hudson – Brigman finished off a solid season with another tough-as-nails game, recording a team high seven tackles.
Benson Harper, Ath., Harbor Beach – Finished the night with 10 tackles and one interception, the game clinching turnover.
What Now?
Harbor Beach finishes the season unbeaten at 14-0 and claims the 2025 Division 8 State Championship, the team’s second state championship in program history.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHudson finishes the 2025 season at 13-1, one of the best seasons in program history. The Tigers will now say goodbye to some key seniors who helped rebuild the program into a championship caliber level. Saying goodbye due to graduation are Grayson Bills, Devon Brigman, Liam Timm, Colt Perry, Trey Bolenbaugh, Trey Cordts, Quinten Clark, Gavin Schultz, Colton Natale, RJ Thompson, Daniel Robinson, Billie Kelley, Malachi Marshall, Zachariah Linton, and Kenny Sledge.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Hudson drops Division 8 state finals to Harbor Beach
AdvertisementAdvertisement